You Do What You Can Do With What You Got

February 2, 2017

Last month I started a new job. For the last two years I’ve been in charge of my own schedule, training people and leading fitness classes on my terms. This meant I had lots of free time to train myself and even more time to recover.

Now, I’m a full-time employee with a health & wellness charity whose mandate I support 100%. I still train people, still lead classes, but I also have administrative and managerial duties. No longer do I have the luxury of wide-open afternoons in which to experiment with different methods; my workouts must be quick, efficient, convenient and, of course, effective. These days that means working out at home before work with the gear I’ve accumulated over the years.

Bodyweight, kettlebells, dumbbells, and bands are the new staples of my routines. I haven’t touched a barbell in weeks. It feels good…aside from this nasty ache in my right trap that just won’t go away. I find I’m able to focus more on technique, and my core strength has increased dramatically. Single-leg exercises like Skater Squats and 1-Leg RDLs have helped tighten-up my balance game, too.

This is not to say that barbells are bad. Barbells — like kettlebells, like dumbbells, like bands — are simply tools. If I had a barbell and squat rack at home, I’d use them. And that’s the secret of this whole fitness thing: do what you can, as often as you can, with whatever tools are at your disposal. 10 minutes of stretching with some pushups and planks is better than nothing. A fast walk around the block after lunch is better than sitting at your desk looking at cat memes.

You don’t need a treadmill or a Fitbit or P90X. You have everything you need. Do what you can with what you got, and do it as often as possible.

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